Amid Israel's ground offensive against Gaza City, at the heart of the Palestinian enclave, the European Commission on Wednesday, September 17, proposed unprecedented measures against the Israeli government. "The horrific events taking place in Gaza on a daily basis must stop. There needs to be an immediate ceasefire, unrestrained access for all humanitarian aid and the release of all hostages held by Hamas," said Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Wednesday.

To achieve this, "we propose to suspend trade concessions with Israel, sanction extremist ministers and violent settlers, and put bilateral support to Israel on hold, without affecting our work with Israeli civil society or Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial," the German leader added. These measures had already been outlined on September 10, during her speech at the European Parliament, but are now officially on the table.

Three months after concluding that Israel is violating Article 2 of the Association Agreement between the European Union and Israel – particularly regarding human rights – the Commission has decided to act. It proposes suspending the trade component of the agreement, which has been in place since 2000. "I want to stress," said the EU's foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, "that we are proposing these measures not to punish Israel or Israeli people, but to really try to pressure the Israeli government to change course and to end the human suffering in Gaza."

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